Elliotte Friedman Reveals New Information on Calvin Pickard's Future With Oilers

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that he no longer believes the Oilers should bring in a new backup, as Calvin Pickard can do well under the new goalie coach.

The Edmonton Oilers still need to assess their goaltending situation after a disappointing end to the Stanley Cup Final.

While Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard did share playoff duty, questions have been raised as to whether the current pair can lead the team to a championship.

One confirmed move is a change behind the bench. After a decade with the organization, Dustin Schwartz will not return as goaltending coach.

His tenure saw 17 different goaltenders spend time in Edmonton, including Stuart Skinner, Mikko Koskinen, Cam Talbot, Mike Smith, and Jack Campbell.

Despite some flashes of success, inconsistency plagued the crease throughout Schwartz's time with the team.

Calvin Pickard has been an able backup, working in 59 regular-season games the past two seasons with a 34-17-2 record, .903 save percentage, and 2.61 goals against average.

His playoff numbers were not quite so good, with an 8-2 record and a subpar .892 save percentage in 13 games.

Friedman initially said the Oilers should look for a new backup, but not anymore

Elliotte Friedman stated recently in a podcast that if the Oilers are adopting a fresh method of coaching, it would make sense to pair that with a new face in the net behind Skinner; however, he has now changed his tune.

Elliotte Friedman: 'I'd said on a previous pod, maybe do the Oilers try to get a new backup for Stuart Skinner, if you're going to try a new approach in goal [new goalie coach], I don't know if you should... Pickard's been very good for them.'